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Marine Scotland Science (MSS)

The Scottish Government came into being following Devolution of Powers from the United Kingdom Government as a result of The Scotland Act 1998 (an Act of the UK Parliament) which created a Scottish Parliament and passed to it the powers to make laws on a range of issues. These powers were extended by the Scotland Act 2012. In 2009, the Scottish Government created Marine Scotland through the bringing together of a Directorate of Scottish Government and two Executive Agencies – Fisheries Research Services and the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. A Directorate of Scottish Government, Marine Scotland is the Marine Management Organisation for Scotland. It is a multi-faceted organisation of 700 staff operating through 27 sites across Scotland. Marine Scotland operates 2 planes and 5 ships which undertake a combination of fisheries protection duties and scientific research and monitoring. The main science facilities are at the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen and the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory in Pitlochry. The Marine Laboratory has had a presence in the south east of Aberdeen since 1894. Although the Marine Laboratory has had a strong focus on fisheries (demersal, pelagic and shellfisheries), there has always been an environmental component to the science programme. Both environmental and aquaculture science have become a significant area of research in the last 30 years. Today, Marine Scotland Science is a multi-disciplinary organisation covering freshwater and marine science, from acidification, to marine mammals to zooplankton. Marine Scotland Science (MSS) provides scientific and technical advice on marine and freshwater fisheries, aquaculture, and the environment to support policy and regulatory responsibilities on behalf of the Scottish Government. MSS will offer TA and contribute to NA1 and NA2.